A strange twist of fate, a side story
by Lucas43
Summary: A little note to keep people informed.
1. Chapter 1

This is just a little dabble that I had done, to let people know about the main B-5 characters, and what was happening to them. Hope you like it.

Surprises

**Earth Alliance Transfer point at IO, Sunday afternoon, 13:00 hrs: **

Lt Ivanova was watching her orders for the third time, and she felt a little uneasy. After she was finished, she went and found Captain Sheridan in the Officers Mess. She put a few things on her tray and went up to his table. "May I join you sir?"

Captain Sheridan just nodded, he could tell by the look on her face that she seemed a little nervous, "Lt, is something wrong?"

"Uh no sir. It's just that I wanted to verify my new orders sir."

"Well they seemed pretty much straight forward Lt. You are to proceed to Vega 3 and assist in the designing of a new Earthforce vessel."

Susan nodded her head, then gave him a strange look. "I know that sir, but why me?"

He looked from side to side, almost conspiratorially and then spoke very softly. "Well Lt, the way I hear it. Apparently several of your professors at Daniels University were quite pleased with your work while you were there, and they personally recommended you for the design team."

Susan almost blushed a little at the compliment, "I didn't know that sir."

Captain Sinclair looked at her now, he had seen the slight color change on her cheeks. "Lt Ivanova, your not blushing are you?"

Susan was a little startled by his question, and her blush got a little darker. "Uh no sir."

He smiled now, "It's a good thing that your not, because the Joint Chiefs are keeping an eye on this project and the people involved. And if they saw you blushing" and he left the rest unsaid.

Susan was acting a little flustered now, "Yes sir, no more blushing Captain."

"Unless absolutely necessary Lt?"

Susan looked at him and saw the small smile on his face and she knew he was playing with her. She relaxed a little now, "Yes sir."

John thought about her brother, he had been as much fun to pick on as she was. He had been a good friend that John still missed. "So when are you leaving Lt?"

"In three days sir, on the next transport going to Vega 3."

Now Captain Sheridan smiled again, "I'm sure the local Psi Corp people will be happy to hear that. Especially Mr Tetsuhara."

Susan had a slightly funny look in her eye, "Yes sir, I'm sure they'll be pleased. Oh, by the way sir, has he stopped itching yet?"

"I'm not sure Lt. Besides, your report said that you had no idea he was allergic to almonds."

He saw that look in her eye again, "Yes sir, no idea."

...

After she had returned to her quarters, she placed a personal call to Mr and Mrs Mason on Vega 3.

Soon a face appeared on her monitor, "Susan. How are you, its been so long since you called."

"I know Missy, I just wanted to let you and Tony know that I will be coming to Vega 3 soon for an extended stay."

Missy saw the look on her face, and she had a good idea why Susan had really called. "That's wonderful, Susanna and Joshua will be delighted to see you. But I should warn you, that Joshua's been having some really bad colds lately."

Susan laughed a little, "Well I'm willing to risk it, besides, I'll be there at least a few days early. We can catch up on things."

"Great. I'll let Tony know your coming, and he can have someone pick you up when you arrive. Then we can spend a few days together."

"I look forward to it. See you in a few days."

After the monitor clicked off, Susan just sat at the desk in her room and looked at her reflection. She couldn't help but smile at the irony of her life. All the time she was growing up, how her mother had drilled into her to not let anyone know what she could do. And she had never let anyone know. Yet some people along the way did find out. The irony was, that the only other people who did know what she could do were both former Psi-cops. But they had kept her secret, and from what Missy had said, in her own unique way, was that they would help her out again. Susan smiled now as she was sure her Mother's spirit had to have had a hand in that. She looked at her monitor again, and she then headed for her duty station for the mid watch.

Friends

**Middle class apartments On Mars Colony: **Jeff Sinclair was standing in front of the apartment door, and he rang the bell on it. When it opened, he saw his friend Michael Garibaldi. Micheal's face immediately lit up and he stepped aside, "Glad you could make it Jeff. Please come in."

Jeff Sinclair smiled at him, "Hey that's what friends are for."

When he entered, the aroma of Anchovies and Garlic were the first things he noticed. "Something smells really good Michael."

Now Michael smiled, "If you think it smells good, just wait until you taste it."

They went into the living room area, and Jeff saw that the center table had a sauce pan on a warmer unit, and a few small trays of sliced fresh vegetables. He also saw several skewers on the table.

"So Jeff, have you heard from Katherine?"

"Well actually Michael I did."

"Yeah, So how are..."

Just then the door chimed, and Michael got up to answer it. Jeff Sinclair had a good idea who was there, and he just smiled. When Michael opened the door, he saw Katherine standing there with someone behind her. Katherine leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "Hi Michael, happy birthday."

Michael was a little distracted, "Yeah thanks."

He saw the woman behind her, and his heart nearly leaped from his chest. "Hello Lise."

The woman slowly approached him, and hugged him. "Hello Michael. I was so sorry to hear about your dad."

Katherine smiled, "I see you two know each other already. And here I was trying to play matchmaker."

Michael saw the small smile on her face, and he knew she meant well. "Yeah, Lise and I met a few years ago."

"Really."

Katherine looked at Lise, "You never told me you knew Micheal."

Lise smiled now, "You never asked."

Michael closed the door and took their coats, and Lise looked at him, "Is that Bagna Cauda I smell?"

Michael smiled, "Yeah it is."

Michael led the ladies into the main room, where Jeff had already poured 3 glasses of wine and a glass of water. He looked at Michael to see if he was upset, but he saw that Michael seemed actually glad to see her.

The couples each took seats on either side of the table the pot was on, and Jeff just looked at Michael. "Seems a strange way to celebrate a birthday Michael."

Michael just smiled. "Not really Jeff, this is how my old man and I always celebrated my birthday."

Jeff just nodded his head a little, "I was sorry to hear about him Michael."

Michael nodded, but was a little glad when Lise gently squeezed his hand.

Now Michael picked up a skewer and stuck it in a chunk of Cauliflower. He started to dip it into the pot. "As you know, my dad and I weren't really as close as we could have been. Especially at the end. But every year on my Birthday, my Pops went out of his way to make Bagna Cauda for me. I would watch him every year. He would get up early and prep every ingredient, and then he would slowly cook everything to perfection. I could see the love on his face as he was cooking everything. My Pops was the kind of guy that couldn't just come right out and say he loved me. So I figured this was his way of saying what he couldn't say out loud."

They all could see the emotions held just behind Micheal's eyes. "So this year I made the Bagna Cauda in his memory."

Jeff Sinclair picked up a skewer and a piece of pepper. He dipped it into the pot and then tasted it. He was amazed at the flavors. Now he looked at Michael and picked up the glass of wine in front of him, Michael picked up his glass of water, and the girls raised their glasses. "To Alfredo Garibaldi, from what I've been told, he was a tough man, but a fair one. He showed his son how to be a fair and just man, and how to cook a mean Bagna Cauda."

The four of them clinked glasses, and after the toast Michael smiled some more. "Hey, after dessert, I'm going to show all of you my second most favorite thing in the universe."

The Incident

**Monday morning 02:00**

Captain Sheridan entered his office, and told his aid to have the prisoner escorted to his office immediately. Soon she was standing at attention in front of his desk, staring at the wall behind him.

John Sheridan just looked at her, "Lt Ivanova, do you know why you're here?"

"Yes sir."

"Do you have anything to say about the incident in question?"

"No sir."

He just looked at her now, "You know Lt, it seems to me that you don't really like people from Psi Corps."

"Sir I..."

He slammed his hands down on his desk scarinf her, "I wasn't finished Lt."

Susan stood a little straighter, "Yes sir."

"Now Lt, I have seen you talking with people I know are telepaths, specifically the Mason's of the Confed Corporation. As the head of their mentalist division, I know that he's a telepath. A rather strong one from what I've heard."

He looked at the Lt, he had seen the small smile when he mentioned the Mason's. "I've even heard that they named their daughter after you."

Susan couldn't help but smile now, she even blushed a little. "Yes sir."

"So I'm going to surmise that it's not telepaths that bother you. But rather that it's Psi Corps that you have a problem with."

Susan continued to look straight ahead, "I'd rather not say sir."

Captain Sheridan looked at her again. "That is irregardless Lt. What you think of Psi corps is probably what led you to do what you did."

Before he could continue, his comm link beeped and he answered it. "Yes."

"Sir, there is a gentleman to see you sir. He says it is extremely urgent that he speak with you."

"Alright, tell him that I'll see him as soon as I'm finished with what I'm doing now."

"Yes sir."

Captain Sheridan looked at Lt Ivanova, "Now where were we?"

Just then the door to his office opened, and a man forced his way past the captains aid. The two security men grabbed him, and he didn't struggle.

Captain Sheridan was now standing and looking at the man, "What the hell is going on? Who the hell are you, and why are you barging into my office?"

Susan had a shocked look on her face, and she just looked at the man.

"I'm terribly sorry for barging in Captain Sheridan. My name is Sam Laqua, and I really do need to see you. Before a brave woman gets punished for doing the right thing."

Captain Sheridan was a little intrigued by this man and he nodded to the security men, who let the man go. The man straightened his leather flight jacket, "Thanks."

"So what is so urgent that you felt you had to bust in here Mr Laqua?"

"Well Captain, I'm here as a witness for the Lt."

Both Susan and Captain Sheridan looked at him and said "What?"

He turned and winked at Susan, and then looked at Captain Sheridan. "Captain Sheridan, yesterday, I was on Mars and I got a message from Director Mason of Confed Corporations Mentalist division. He said that a friend of his needed transportation to Vega 3, and he asked me if I would pick her up and fly her to Vega 3. Well Captain, I owe Tony a favor or three, so I agreed and made my way here. When I arrived, I contacted the Lt, and she told me she would meet me after her duty period ended. She recommended the pub you have here near the landing bay area. Well I went there to wait for her, and as I was waiting I saw a few 'gentlemen' I would prefer to avoid."

Captain Sheridan looked at his monitor, "That would be Mr Charles and Mr Ray?"

Sam just nodded his head, "Yes sir. Let's just say that I have a 'history' with them, shall we. Well Captain, I was trying to quietly exit the pub when they saw me. They intercepted me in front of the railing by the side of the pub. "

Sam remembered how the two men confronted him and told Captain Sheridan.

"Well hello again."

"I'm sorry sir, do I know you?"

"Oh come now, I never forget a face, or the lead pipe a person is using."

Sam smiled at him, "Then you must be mistaken, I don't use lead pipes."

"Oh a funny man huh?"

"Well I do try."

"Well Mr Charles here is a real funny guy too."

"I'm sure he is."

"Mr Charles, this is the man from Proxima."

"The one from the alley Mr Ray?"

"Yes Mr Charles."

"Now gentlemen, there are so many alleys in the galaxy."

"Mr Ray, didn't he give me a nasty concussion?"

"I believe he did Mr Charles. I also believe that he broke my nose as well."

"I do believe you're correct Mr Ray."

"Well I believe we should give him a little something in return Mr Charles."

"Oh I do so agree Mr Ray."

Captain Sheridan held up his hand, "Wait a minute, are you telling me that you got the drop on two Psi Cops?"

Sam just nodded his head. "Ummm yeah."

Captain Sheridan just gave him a look, "How?"

"Well Captain, let's just say that I snuck up on them."

"Oh really Mr Laqua, and just how did you do that?"

"Well Captain, I think it was the fact that they were in the middle of bullying six young kids. It sorta had them distracted, so I snuck up behind them and thumped them."

"You thumped them?"

Sam had a shit eating grin on his face now as he remembered the fight. "Yes sir I did."

"Then what happened?"

"Well sir, I helped the kids get to a safe place, and got them and their families in touch with our Mentalist division."

"So what happened with the two gentlemen in the pub?"

"Well lets just say that they were a little upset with me. They both looked at me and said 'Pain'. And I got to experience the worst pain I have ever felt. I nearly doubled over, and it was taking everything I had not to pass out. Well the fact that I didnt pass out really ticked them off more, and the pain started to get worse. It was then I heard a crash and the pain suddenly ended. When I looked up the two men were gone and I saw my avenging angel."

"I take it that that was when Lt Ivanova got involved."

Susan stood up straighter, "Yes sir. I saw the 2 psi cops torturing someone, and knowing that that is not proper police procedure, I had to act. I yelled at them to stop, but they ignored me. So I picked up a chair and struck one of them across the back. Well sir, the force of the blow broke the chair and propelled the one psi cop into the other. Their momentum carried them over the railing sir."

Captain Sheridan nodded, "Which caused them to land in the hydroponics pool below the railing."

Both Sam and Susan were trying to hold back smirks from their faces. Susan answered him, "Yes sir."

Captain Sheridan looked at her and Mr Laqua for almost a full minute before he spoke. "Well Lt, I'm going to choose to believe that you knew there was a pool of water below the railing and that you believed that the men would not be to badly injured by your actions."

Susan looked at the Captain with a slightly bewildered look, but answered him slowly, "Yes sir."

"Now normally I would have to possibly submit something like this for further judicial review. But as both Mr Charles and Mr Ray have refused to press charges, and in fact are saying that they slipped on a wet floor. There is not going to be any further review. There will also not be any official notation in your records Lt."

He just watched as Susan just quietly nodded her head. "Thank you sir."

Captain Sheridan smiled now as he continued, "I'm also sure that some loyal patron will see to it that the pub owner has enough credits to replace his missing chair."

Susan just slowly nodded her head.

Captain Sheridan now looked at Sam, "As for you Mr Laqua, it appears that you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. So I'm going to recommend that you don't stick around here for to much longer. Mr Ray and Mr Charles will be out of medlab in about 4 hours."

Sam smiled and nodded, "Thank you Captain Sheridan", and he left the office.

"Now Lt, since there is officially no reason to hold you, you can be on you way to Vega 3 as per your orders."

"Yes sir."

Susan snapped to attention and saluted him sharply.

Captain Sheridan came to attention and saluted her back. Then he held out his hand, "Good luck Lt."

Susan shook his hand, "Thank you sir, for everything."

She then turned and left his office. In the outer office, she saw Sam was waiting for her.

"Well Lt, if you're ready to go, I've got a ship that's available."

"Just as soon as I see a man about a chair."

"Already taken care of Lt."

Susan just looked at him, "What, how?"

He raised his hand to his chest and bowed his head a little, "Let's call it a gift from a very appreciative pilot."

She smiled at him, "Just because you bought me a present, it doesn't mean we're going to be friends."

Sam winked at her, "Perish the thought Lt." Then he started to laugh.

Susan couldn't help herself, and she started to laugh a little as well.

He held open the door, "Shall we?"

The two of them headed to her quarters to get her belongings.

In Captain Sheridan's Office, the senior security man looked at him, "Sir, you know that those two psi corps guys are going to be ticked off."

He smiled at the man, "I know, but that won't be a problem. Because they are currently resting in med lab thanks to the doc. When they do wake up, they'll be on a slow automated transport back to earth."

The security man just looked at him, "Why sir?"

"Well Chief, let's just say the Lt has some quiet friends in high places, besides, I served with her brother during the war. He was a really good friend."

The security chief just nodded his head. "Yes sir."

Back to School.

Stephen was walking across the boarding tube headed for the ship that was at the space dock. He smiled to himself, as he thought about where he was headed. He was finally getting a chance to study on Vega 3. He had put in for a chance to study there, but for some reason his requests had always seemed to disappear or get conveniently lost. Finally he had gone to see his father, and he found out why.

He met his father in a courtyard near the Headquarters building in Washington DC. Earthforce had taken over the old Pentagon building, and that was where General Franklin was stationed. Stephen walked up and saluted the General. The general looked at him and returned the salute. "Hello Stephen."

He answered his father as professionally as possible. "Good morning sir."

His father looked at him and gestured for him to sit down on the bench beside him. "You know your mother is waiting to hear from you about your birthday present. Did you like it?"

Stephen smiled a little, "It's a little tight around my neck, but it was the thought that counts."

His father just looked at him and tried not to smirk, "She never could guess a mans size. She still get's my inseam wrong."

Now the general looked at him, "So why this early morning meeting Stephen?"

Stephen hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to do this, he preferred to do things on his own. But his own inquiries had gotten nowhere. He spoke softly, "I need your help dad."

The general looked at him, he had always taught his son to do things for himself. He told him not to expect help from anyone else. And now here he was asking him for help. Secretly a part of him was overjoyed that his grown son still needed his help, but he couldn't show him that side. So he remain impassive, "What sort of help?"

"I need to find out why all of my requests to be sent to Vega 3 for advanced medical training are being blocked or lost or sent to some outlying colony."

The general already knew the answer, but he was hesitant to tell him. So he just decided that the straight forward way was best. "It's your war record Stephen."

"My war record?"

Now Stephen thought back to the little fracas he had had with that one general from Earthforce. He had ordered him to turn over his notes on Minbari anatomy and physiology to the Bio-weapon research teams. But Stephen had refused and destroyed the notes instead. That had gotten him some time in the brig. It was shortly after that that he had accompanied Commander Sheridan on the peace mission.

"It seems Stephen, that some people still fault you for not turning over your notes and data."

His father could see that he was starting to get mad, so he put up a hand to hopefully stop the tirade. "I said some people, not all people. There were other doctors who also apposed the making of bio-weapons."

"So what your telling me, is that because I stood up for my moral beliefs, I'm being punished."

The general just looked at his son. "It's not a perfect world Stephen. I'm sorry."

"So you can't or won't help me then?"

The general looked at the expression of hurt in his son's eyes. A part of him felt the pain his son felt. But they were both soldiers, and sometimes pain over a decision that was made had to be endured. But he felt that perhaps his son had been punished enough. "I'll see what I can do Stephen. But no promises."

Stephen stood up slowly, "Thank you sir."

The general stood up and just looked at his son. "It's the least I can do for the fine officer standing in front of me."

Stephen came to attention and saluted the General. "Again, thank you sir."

The general returned the salute, then smiled at his son. "Your welcome Stephen."

As he started to leave, he turned and looked back at Stephen. "Please remember to call your mother. Or I'll sick the MP's on you."

Stephen just nodded his head, and tried not to laugh. But then as he thought about it, he realized that the General just might do that. He made a mental note to call his mother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Office of Harold Jackson. CEO of Peridyne Aeronautics.**

Harold Jackson was nervous and he clearly showed it. The one chance for his company to go big time in the spacecraft design field and something had happened. He was sitting across from Daniel Jakoub, the division head of the Confed Corporations Aeronautics division. He had managed to get a contract to supply the Confed people with machined parts and some refined materials for the new line of transports they had been designing. A multi billion credit deal for his small company. Now this incident had happened and the people from Confed were talking about pulling out. What was worse was that they might possibly sue him and his company for attempted corporate espionage.

"Mr Jakoub. First let me say that none of us here had any idea that Mr McGruder was a telepath. He never told anyone here that he was, and he did pass the Psi Corps exam that we give all of our new employees. Surely they should have detected something if he was a telepath."

Dan Jakoub had been in the G-2 section of confed for a long time, and he had learned how to read people. The fact that he was cross trained in engineering was the reason he had gotten the job as division head. He felt that the man sitting across from him was telling him the truth, but this Mr McGruder had reacted strongly to the FPG at the factory on Proxima 3. The lab tests performed on him clearly showed that he was at least a level 11 telepath. But when the techs tried to confront him with the information, he had initially flipped out, but then he went catatonic. They decided to rush him to Corporation headquarters and have the case reviewed by the division M medical teams. "Well Mr Jackson, I do want to believe you. My people have had weird run ins with Psi Corps before. So we're going to give you the benefit of the doubt. And a chance to clear yourself and your people."

"Mr Jakoub, we'll do whatever you want us to do."

"I thought you would feel that way, so I've contacted our people and they are sending an investigation team here to talk to your people. You do know that they will want to scan your people as well."

Harold Jackson knew that he and his people could refuse to be scanned, but this deal was way to important to just say no outright. He would ask his people to volunteer to be scanned. "Mr Jakoub, please feel free to investigate us entirely. But I will have to ask my people if they wish to be scanned. I can't just force them."

Dan Jakoub smiled at him now, "Good answer Harold. If any of your people don't want to be scanned, we won't force them. But we will still want to talk to them."

Harold let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "So when do you want to start your investigation?"

"We already have. Our people have gone over Mr McGruder's place very thoroughly. We've spoken to his neighbors, and friends. He has no family listed, so we can't talk to them. So for now, we just put things on hold for a few days, and try to get this business cleaned up."

**Division M Medical Building on Vega 3:**

Tony Mason looked at the man on the monitor. He was still comatose, but according to the instruments, he shouldn't have been. He looked at Dr Swift, "So any new idea's as to why he's still under Tim?"

"Sorry Tony. According to all of his test results, he should be awake and alert. But as you can see, he isn't. I'm afraid that we may have to do a forced deep scan. Even then, there's no guaranty that it will be affective."

Tony was afraid he was going to say that, but a part of him agreed with Dr Swift. "I'll contact Missy and have her arrange for a few of the girls to come over and try to do the deep probe. I just hope it's not to messed up in there."

The next morning Missy arrived at the hospital with Tina Mitchell and Debbie Hudson. They each took a seat next to Phillip McGruder. The girls each placed their hands on him and began their deep breathing routine. Soon their three minds and bodies were in sync with each other. They now started to try and enter his mind. They kept running into blocks, and not simple ones. Missy recognized the blocks as some of those taught to Psi-Cops. As soon as she recognized them, the other girls knew as well. _"Lets keep pushing girls, we can get through these."_

As they pushed in further, they found themselves mired down in repetitive memories, that were popping up in places they shouldn't be in. _"It's like something is fighting us. Something that doesn't want to be found."_

Finally they saw a small hallway appear. The hallway looked like one you would find in any earth apartment building. They now saw a door, so they walked up to the door and Missy knocked on it. A man opened the door and it was Phillip McGruder and he was in his pajama's. "Hello, can I help you?"

Missy could see inside what appeared to be an apartment on earth, and she realized that this was his safety construct. She decided to play along with his minds protective construct. So she smiled her biggest smile, "Hi there, my names Missy Mason, and these are my friends Tina and Debbie. We just moved into the complex, and decided to meet some of our new neighbors."

Phillip smiled now, "Welcome to the complex ladies. My name's Phil. Won't you come in?"

He stepped aside and let them enter, he even sighed a little as he watched Debbie walk by. Debbie just smiled at him as she realized where he was glancing. "So you ladies just moved in eh. You know I haven't seen anyone for a few days now, I was beginning to think I was alone here."

As Debbie and Tina kept him talking, Missy was discreetly looking the place over. It was clear that he thought he was at home on Earth. She also felt a dark presence very nearby. She decided to try something, so she looked at Debbie and Debbie came over to her. "Go along with this Deb. So Phil, Debbie was wondering if you could show us around a bit. What with us being new to the city and all."

Phil's face lit up, "I would love to. Let me just get dressed real quick."

Phil walked into the next room, and suddenly the girls saw another Phil come through the door. "Who sent you? Verify."

The girls just looked at him and Missy could feel the darkness in this avatar. "Who are you? Even though you look like Phillip McGruder, you're not him."

"Of course I'm not him. He doesn't really exist. He was made up by the Corps. I'm Ed Carson Omega 12 Zulu 6599 Now who sent you? Verify."

Missy took another chance. "Bester sent us. Melissa Fox Omega 12 Zulu 8275, Charlie Oscar Romeo Papa Sierra Sierra Romeo Uniform."

The new avatar looked at her for a moment, "Don't tell me that that pompous ass is now in this program. I swear the leaders must want this program to fail if he's been made a part of it. Is this why I'm here, stuck in this construct of his apartment"

"We're not sure, we were sent in to find out why you went silent. He was found in his apartment and we moved him to the "Facility". It took all three of us just to force our way in. What do you remember?"

The Avatar looked at her for a moment, then nodded it's head. It seemed to believe her. "I have been in deep cover for the last two years now. I've been surfacing when he sleeps and I have been reporting as scheduled. Then just about a week ago, he was told by his employer that he and some of his coworkers would be going on a factory tour on Vega 3. So we headed for Vega 3. We made a stop at Proxima to be checked at one of their offices. That's the last thing he or I remember, until we woke up in here."

Missy nodded, "Thank you for explaining things. We are going to have to try and sort this out. We will have to try to reinsert you into the factory."

"That's impossible. I'm sure that his cover is blown. I should just destroy this construct and wipe the memories. Then we can try to determine what went wrong."

Phil came into the room and looked at them."Who the hell is that and what the hells going on?"

The dark avatar looked at him, "I'm you, or I should say, I'm the real owner of this body, You're just a figment of my imagination. Now if you would be kind enough to stand still I can end your miserable existence. Then I can reclaim my body."

Everyone saw a large dagger appear in his hand and he started towards Phil. Phillip McGruder didn't know what was happening, but this creep was obviously going to try to kill him. So he started backing away from him and was looking for a weapon. The dark avatar looked at him, "Don't tell me your going to try and fight me. Why do that? Your life is a miserable existence. It's what we made up for you. None of its real."

Phil looked at him now, "I don't know who you are, but my life is real. I have friends and a job. My life has purpose. "

"Ha ha ha. Purpose. You've got to be kidding. You have no friends, you have nothing except for what the corp gave you. And now it wants it all back."

Phil became enraged, and lunged at the other man. They were struggling with each other and for some reason Debbie found herself rooting for Phillip. The Dark avatar appeared to be winning, then Debbie did something unexpected. She grabbed a lamp and hit him with it. The lamp shattered and the dark avatar stumbled a bit. Phillip used the distraction to grab a cricket bat from the wall and swung it down on the dark avatar's head. They all heard a sickening crunch, but that didn't stop Phillip from hitting him again and again. The girls could only stand there and watch the carnage taking place in front of them. Soon the avatars body just faded away. Phillip looked at Debbie and smiled, then everything was a bright white flash. The girls suddenly found themselves sitting around Phillips bed, and Phillip was sweating heavily. Phillip found himself in pain, and he was hearing hundreds of voices. He was screaming now, "SHUT UP, GET OUT OF MY HEAD."

The girls had all seen sudden spiking like this before, but usually in teenagers when their abilities manifested at puberty. Debbie grabbed Phillip's head and turned his face towards hers. She pushed into his mind and forced a connection between them. "I'M HERE PHILLIP. EVERYTHING"S GOING TO BE FINE."

She now helped him to deaden the voices by being a filter for him. "Listen to me Phillip, hear only the sound of my voice."

She saw Phillip looking at her now. "We're going to build a wall. Let me see the first brick Phillip."

She watched as he slowly formed a brick with his mind. Then another and another. She walked him through his spiking and soon he was just laying there quietly. Debbie was exhausted, but she looked at Missy, "What happened in there?"

"It looks like the corps had made the Phillip persona to be a cover for Ed Carson. I guess it was supposed to die when it wasn't needed any more. But they did too good a job. It wanted to live and thanks to you Debbie. It now can."

Now Tina looked at her, "And the spike?"

"You gotta remember that the Phillip McGruder persona wasn't a telepath. I guess the Carson persona was keeping his abilities locked down tight. Without it there to keep the locks in place, he experienced the spike when his abilities were released. He's probably gonna need to be trained all over again."

They both looked at Debbie, she was still looking at Phillip and was now holding his hands. Tina smiled a little, "Well I think he's already got a mentor."

Debbie just looked at her, then Missy smiled. "Well he did think she was hot."

Now Debbie started to blush a little. Then they all heard Phillip whisper, "I still do."

Now Debbie was really blushing, but she leaned forward and whispered to Phil. "So are you." and gently kissed his forehead.

Phillip smiled as he drifted off to sleep.

**Three days later. **

Dan was looking at the latest report from Division M's medical team. The man, Phillip McGruder was clearly a level 12 telepath. But there had been no official record of a Phillip McGruder ever being a member of Psi Corps. This meant that he had been a black op of Psi Corps. Now he looked at Mary Timmons, the lead investigator sent by Division M. "Well Mary, your thoughts on this debacle?"

"Well sir, we talked to and scanned all of the employees. No one knew he was a teep. But the thing that gets me, is that he passed a Psi Corps scan when he first started here. At the level that his blood tests show, even a P-3 should have been able to tell something was up."

"So what does your gut tell you?"

"He was either really good at hiding his ability, or he's some sort of operative and the Corps was in on it from the start."

Dan smiled, "That's what the medical people determined to. Now what about the rest of the people here, what's your read on them?"

"They're scared sir. Scared that we're going to pull the contract and leave their company bankrupt. And them out of jobs."

"Well I've spoken to the Admiral, and he said that if you and your team clear them, then we should proceed with the deal."

Mary smiled a little, "Consider them cleared sir."

"Thanks Mary. Have a nice trip back to Vega."

**The following morning :**

Dan had called Harold the previous night and asked if he could have a meeting with all of their employees in the morning. He wanted to give them the news personally. He walked into the main hanger area on the company grounds and saw all of the companies employee's waiting for him. He just looked at them for a moment, "Ladies and Gentlemen. On behalf of the Confed Corporation, I want to thank all of you for your assistance in helping to clear up this matter. Although the matter isn't completely resolved, we were able to conclude that no one here was culpable. So as of five minutes ago, Peridyne Aeronautics and Confed Corporation became partners."

The Peridyne employee's immediately began to cheer, because they all owned a piece of the company and this deal was going to make them all rich. Many were shaking his hands and a few of them even kissed him, and not just the ladies.

When he got back to the hotel, he saw Mary Timmons was still there. "I figured you would have been headed home already."

She shrugged her shoulders, "I was, then the Director told me to head back here."

"No explanation?"

"No sir, he just said I was to wait here for a division specialist, and I was to assist her in anyway I could. "

Dan had heard a few things about the specialists. They were something the Admiral and Director Mason had come up with. They did the 'special jobs', the ones that needed to be done, but no one ever wanted to do. If Tony Mason was sending one here, then he must have discovered something. Dan looked at Mary now, "Did Tony say why he was sending a specialist?"

"Nope, but if they sent one, I just hope it doesn't get messy."

A few hours later, Tina Mitchell walked into the hotel and she saw Mary Timmons waiting for her in the lobby. Mary saw her and walked over to her. "Hello Tina, I didn't know they were sending you."

"Hello Mary. Did the director tell you anything?"

"No, just that I'm to help you in any way you need."

Tina smiled a little, "Well it really isn't that bad this time. We just need to doctor some records, and a few memories. Nothing major."

Mary looked at her, "Doctor some memories?"

"Yes, we're going to make his neighbors believe that Phillip McGruder moved out and didn't leave a forwarding address."

"May I ask why?"

Tina looked at her, "For his own safety."

"From who?"

Tina just looked at her and Mary just nodded, as she already knew the answer. "Right, gotcha."

Tina pulled out a small computer, "So the neighbors, or the moving company. Which do you want to do first?"

Mary looked at Tina, "I don't know boss, surprise me." This got them both laughing a little.


End file.
